The sensitivity and specificity of pain diagrams in rheumatic disease referrals.

Objectives: To determine patterns on pain diagrams and corresponding diagnoses in patients referred to a rheumatology clinic and their sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values (PPV and NPV, respectively).

Methods: All new adult patient referrals from two rheumatologists over 6 years were reviewed and eligible if a pain diagram had been completed and they were not previously diagnosed with a rheumatic disease. Pain diagrams completed by the patient were organized into patterns based on the location of joint and/or soft tissue areas by two independent observers.

The minimally important difference for the fatigue visual analog scale in patients with rheumatoid arthritis followed in an academic clinical practice.

Objective: To estimate the minimally important difference (MID) for a fatigue visual analog scale (VAS) using patient-reported anchors (fatigue, pain, and overall health).

Methods: Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA; n = 307) had 2 clinic visits at a median of 5.9 months apart.